Hagop Vartovyan (), better known as Güllü Agop (), (took later the name Yakub because converted to Islam), (1840 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

– 1902 in Istanbul) was an

Ottoman Armenian Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

as well as an occasional

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is widely credited with having laid the bases for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's modern and nationally renowned

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

institution that became the

Istanbul City Theatres Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theatre ( Turkish: ''Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Şehir Tiyatroları''; Ottoman Turkish: Darülbedayi) The theater was founded in 1934 in the Ottoman Empire period (1914) as Dârülbedayi. It was a t ...

(). In his qualities of organizer, sponsor and figure of support for writers and spectators, Güllü Agop is one of the 19th century pioneers of the Turkish Theatre art as a whole. He was accepted as the founder of the modern Turkish Theatre. As an

, Güllü Agop was regularly showing

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

shows in his theatre; after 1868, he decided to provide regular Turkish shows

Biography

Vartovyan was born in 1840 in Istanbul with the name Agop Vartovyan to Armenian parents. "Güllü Agop" (literally ''Jacob the Rosy'') was the name under which he had come to be known in the world of theatre. He converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in his forties and took the name "Yakub". He is the father of Necip Yakup Aşkın, considered as one of the most prominent

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

masters Turkey produced and his grandson, Yücel Aşkın, was the rector of

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

's Yüzüncü Yıl University. He works an academician in the university and is chairman of

Environmental Engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

. Güllü Agop had another son called İhsan Aşkın. After retiring from the army where he served as

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, he became an actor and took part in around 50 movies.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agop, Gullu 1840 births Male actors from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Ethnic Armenian male actors Male stage actors from the Ottoman Empire Theatre directors from the Ottoman Empire 1902 deaths People from Istanbul Ethnic Armenian Muslims 19th-century Muslims Ethnic Armenian people Converts to Islam 19th-century male actors from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Armenian people